15 May 2013: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) launched the 1-15 May issue of the Tropical Timber Market (TTM) Report highlighting stories on reductions in timber consumer confidence in Japan as well as a drop in US home builder confidence despite increases in housing starts.

In Europe, the report highlights a 10 per cent drop in plywood imports in 2012, as well as an article on projections for the future of Chinese plywood trade to Europe. Looking at the continued difficulties meeting the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), the report mentions that EUTR is still less challenging than previous Chain of Custody (CoC) regulations.

In Indonesia, the report reveals that many timber producers are concerned about the introduction of Indonesia’s timber legality assurance system (SVLK), which increases production costs, but currently provides no market advantage. Meanwhile, in Myanmar and Viet Nam, the report highlights ongoing efforts by Indian companies to scout raw materials.

Finally, the report states that Brazil’s forest inventory will be updated by 2016. The inventory will be based on 20,000 data points and will provide information for forest conservation as well as the sustainable management of the forest industry and tighter controls on illegal logging.

In addition to the headline stories, the report contains tropical timber market reports from Brazil, China, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar and Peru. The report also recounts regional tropical timber market statistics from Central and West Africa, Europe and North America.

The TTM Report is published through the ITTO Market Information Service (MIS) with the aim of improving transparency in the international tropical timber market. [Publication: Tropical Timber Market Report – Issue 17 Number 9]